Top Turkey Tips

Christmas rolls around at the same time every year, we know it’s coming and it seems to be starting earlier and earlier, and this year is no different. Did the shops start to sell Christmas crackers in August? Adverts start promoting festive food already and yet it still comes as a surprise that its suddenly upon us, and we have to think about cooking Christmas dinner.

We don’t know what this year’s Covid-Christmas is going to look like, but we hope that the traditional Christmas dinner won’t change, I mean we are British after all!

There seemingly is an undue pressure on getting the Christmas day feast just so: the fluffy roasted potatoes, all the tremendous trimmings and glorious gravy, plus of course the centrepiece that everyone looks forward to – the perfect Christmas turkey.

Well we have the answer – look no further than a free range, Yorkshire bred, bronze turkey from Herb Fed Poultry, as we share our top turkey tips on cooking up that juicy, tasty turkey to be the showstopper of your Christmas dinner this year.

Tip 1 – choose the best quality turkey

Herb Fed Poultry are based in Easingwold in North Yorkshire and their free range turkeys and roosters are the only UK flocks to enjoy a unique herb-based diet.

In order to enjoy the best possible tasting turkey, its all about buying the best quality and with both the free range flocks enjoying the fresh Yorkshire air, plus their unique herb diet – you can’t get any better in quality. Read more about the life cycle of the Herb Fed Poultry’s turkey in our ‘From Field to Fork’ article. (LINK)

Founder of Herb Fed Poultry Edward talks about how they produce the best quality turkeys and why they are different: “We focus on improving the birds’ diet, quality of life and ultimately taste. Our ultimate aim is to produce a bird with taste, producing poultry of quality, but with a special difference that sets it apart from others. We started out because we could also see the shift from mass produced supermarket meat, to a call for provenance, traceability and high welfare.”

But don’t just take our word for it as we have received some fantastic reviews from customers as well as esteemed chefs, critics and restaurateurs. You can read more on our website:

“I cook a lot of Herb Fed, they are a fantastic bird with wonderful favour.” – Tommy Banks, Michelin Star Chef at the Black Swan at Oldstead.

“A good, honest bird well reared and well prepared. The flavour is also remarkable” – Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Award Judge.

“They (Herb Fed Poultry) are juicy and absolutely delicious.” – Janet Street-Porter, food critic.

Herb Fed Poultry have also won many awards for their Christmas turkey, including Great Taste Awards 2019 & 2020 so you know you have guaranteed quality when you buy a Herb Fed Poultry Christmas turkey.

Tip 2 – Buy the right size of turkey

Every year we are faced with the same puzzle: wanting to have enough turkey to feed the hungry diners at the table and also having enough for delicious leftovers the next day, but not wanting to buy too much either.

But fear not and don’t worry as Herb Fed Poultry have got you covered in their useful guide to help you work out exactly the size of turkey you need to buy this year, factoring in some delicious leftovers for Boxing Day. Look up how many your bird will feed here.

Tip 3 – How to cook the turkey

We have (almost!) done all the hard work for you as all of our birds come complete with their own set of detailed cooking instructions, plus a set of fresh herbs for our Christmas stuffing recipe. Our cooking guide can also be found on our website LINK. So, no more frantically leafing through the pages of recipes books amidst the other chaos in the kitchen!

Plus, the superior quality of the game-hung turkeys are such that you can say goodbye to an 8 hour cooking time and having to remember to put the oven on at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning as our birds have a short cooking time meaning they can be enjoyed in half the time, bonus! See our suggested cooking times here

Tip 4 – Think about those tasty leftovers

Recipe image

So, the Christmas dinner has been a huge success, the turkey was delicious and juicy, your guests are full of praise and no one went home hungry. But then Boxing Day morning arrives and the leftover turkey can be enjoyed once again.

Everyone has their own favourite leftover traditions, perhaps a turkey curry or a turkey soup, or just simply cold cuts and chutney in a scrumptious turkey sandwich. But perhaps you fancy trying something different this year? Herb Fed Poultry have come to the rescue with some inspiring leftover recipes including a Turkey Shakshuka, is your mouth watering yet? Peruse our recipes here.